SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A new fire station under construction in the Heathrow and Paola area of northwest Seminole County is on schedule for a fall 2024 opening.
County officials say it will reduce response times in the area while relieving the call volume of neighboring fire stations.
“It’s very exciting. This is a state-of-the-art fire station,” Seminole County Fire Chief Matt Kinley told News 6. “This will provide (our crews) with the facilities to not only be comfortable, but respond quickly.”
Seminole County leaders were talking about the need for a new fire station more than 23 years ago when Kinley began his career here as a firefighter and paramedic at Station 34, which currently serves the area. It is located near the intersection of Interstate 4 and State Road 46.
“Station 34 is maxed out,” Kinley said. “In just in the past decade, their call load has increased 53%.”
The new fire station, which is being built on First Street near Orange Boulevard, will be responsible for handling some of the 5,200 calls annually that are currently received by Station 34 while also alleviating call volume loads from three other nearby fire stations in Sanford, Lake Mary and unincorporated Seminole County.
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“The addition of this station is going to decrease response times by two minutes or greater in some of the area, and by a minute in most of the area,” Kinley said. “The quicker that we put water on a fire, the quicker it goes out (...) The quicker we get to somebody who’s not breathing, or whose heart is not beating, the higher chance we have to save their life.”
At 13,356 square feet with four apparatus bays, Station 39 will be Seminole County’s largest fire station.
The $10.7 million station will house a truck with a 100-foot-tall “aerial tower” capable of responding to tall apartment buildings that have recently been built in the area.
The fire station backs up to the Seminole Wekiva Trail, making it easier for emergency crews using a utility vehicle to access hikers and cyclists.
“We were approved a couple of years ago for the 30 personnel that it takes to open a station of this size with this apparatus,” Kinley said. “We’ve already begun hiring those people so that we have trained people on staff by the time this opens in fall 2024.”
Jeff Atchison, who lives in the 32771 zip code, contacted News 6 with questions about the new fire station as part of “WKMG Hits The Road.”
“I was a former Jacksonville Fire Rescue volunteer, so I appreciate it,” Atchison said. “This is going to be a big help with the 429 (Expressway) extension and the new construction that’s going in.”
Atchison said he has been informed by his property insurance company that his premium will drop slightly when the new fire station opens a few blocks from his home.
He is also comforted knowing first responders will likely get to his home faster if there were to be an emergency.
“I’m impressed,” Atchison told News 6. “I really appreciate you looking into this story for me.”
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